Ex-Schaeffler CEO probed by German prosecutors over alleged bribery

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -- A German public prosecutor has launched an investigation into eight former employees of supplier Schaeffler, including former CEO Juergen Geissinger, over allegations of bribery, breach of trust and tax fraud.

The allegations are related to deals involving Turkey which took place between 2004 and 2011, the public prosecutor's office in the German city of Wuerzburg told Reuters on Tuesday.

No further details of the allegations were immediately available and none of the individuals were named, in line with normal practice in German legal cases.

However, German wind turbine maker Senvion said its CEO, former Schaeffler chief Geissinger, who left Schaeffler in 2013 and joined Senvion in late 2015, is being investigated. Geissinger is not the main focus of the inquiry, Senvion said.

Senvion is set to float on the Frankfurt stock exchange on Friday.

Geissinger said in a statement in response to an inquiry by Reuters that the allegations had already been looked into by Schaeffler and he expected the public prosecutor's investigation to be closed shortly.

"As part of a 2011 compliance report [by Schaeffler] all necessary measures were taken," Geissinger said, without giving further details.

Senvion's owner Centerbridge said it had no indication that Geissinger had not complied with his obligations as former CEO of Schaeffler. "We expect the authorities to close the preliminary investigation in due course," it said.

Senvion and Centerbridge declined to comment on the stock market listing plans but three people familiar with the deal said that investor orders for the 46 percent stake in Senvion on sale had not yet reached the amount on offer.

Centerbridge bought Senvion, formerly known as Repower, from Suzlon Energy last year.

While no new shares are being offered in the private placement, the stock market listing is seen as a way for Senvion to raise capital should it need to co-finance large new wind farm projects in the long term.